Question
Define ‘energy of activation’ of a reaction. How does it vary with a rise in temperature?
Solution
Energy of activation. The minimum energy over average energy which must be gained by the molecules before they could react to form products is called the energy of activation. It is denoted by Ea.
According to the Arrhenius theory, activation energy is independent of temperature. However, precise measurements indicate that the activation energy tends to decrease slightly with a rise in temperature.
